Suppressor cleaning

[sgms18]

I am running an AAC 7.62SD on my AR-Whisper. This is my 1st suppressor and I was wondering, how and how often i should clean it? Also I have been told not to use bullets with exposed lead bottoms(not an issue for the whisper) but I wanta use this can on my .223 AR's too and most all of your 55and 62gr bullets ARE exposed lead bottoms. Does anyone run these types of bullets in their supperssed guns? Sure, I could shoot match bullets but I have thousands and thousands of 55 and 62gr "exposed lead bottom" bullets. What do yall think? I have read bout the "DIP" (viniger and peroxide) that is supposer to disolve lead in another post here, it said to only use on SS. Well, my AAC 7.62SD is made of 718 Inconel and 316 SS and they call their finish SCARmor. Is it ok to use this solution in my can, will it harm the finish? Thanks in advance for any insight! :confused:

[ds762]

I am not an expert on the "dip" but you should be ok .. the material in the AAC can should be good to go. If you have any doubts .. I would get ahold of AAC directly myself.

Honestly I would avoid any type of exposed lead bullet to run through a can just for simplicity's sake.

[amafrank]

I'd say screw the cleaning. Its really not necessary and the lead based bullets won't lead up your suppressor bad enough to cause any concern. In .22 cal suppressors the cleaning is a lot more important due to the smaller volume and the incredible quantity of crap that .22's fill the cans with. They have wax and grease as well as unburned powder and then the lead vapor combines with the silica in the priming compound to make a very tough ceramic coating that keeps you from cleaning out the rest of the crap. In the high power cans there is much less problem with the can filling up. When you shoot subsonics the tendancy to vaporize the lead base is much lower and the powder quantity is substantially lower so less issues with fouling. Firing some high power through the can like .308 or .223 will help blast some of that out the front end. I've taken apart a couple cans for test purposes but after 500rds of 30-221 in a 16" barrel it turns out the cleaning is unnecessary. Some carbon buildup on the rear baffle but it doesn't build up much beyond that and there isn't any real effect on suppression so I'd say no cleaning. As for toxic chem dips the only way to tell if it will hurt your particular suppressor and its coating is to test a small part of it. Inconel should be fine as well as stainless but the coating may dissolve.

Frank

[Rikky Lee]

Don't do it. Other forums have reported that this is a great way to buy another can after the damage done through cleaning in this solution.

[este]

Don't do it. Other forums have reported that this is a great way to buy another can after the damage done through cleaning in this solution.

Bullshit. 50% vin/perox is fine for steel, ti, nickle (inconel). It will eat away at softer metals like aluminum and lead (obviously). Regardless, you would really have to abuse an aluminum can to get it to fail.

Exactly like frank said, it will be fine for the suppressor but may damage your coating. I've have never heard of AAC coatings being damaged by the dip though.

Silencerresearch.com has an article (paid members only) about the sound difference in a dirty 9mm can vs a clean one. It's significant. The can in the test had several thousand rounds down it.

Exposed lead bottom is fine, don't even pay attention to that. However, I would be interested if Frank was talking about 500 rounds of cast or jacketed. I am reluctant to shoot cast in a sealed can. While I think it wouldn't be as bad as .22, some people disagree and say it would be worse because of the addition lead surface area over .22 bullets.

It's tough to tell because I know my 22 can gets filthy, but I only ever shoot non-jacketed down it. Does anyone even make a copper jacketed that isn't high velocity?

I suspect cast is a bad idea in a sealed can. Don't worry about the base.

[Rikky Lee]

Only relaying what one person's experience was FWIW. I tend to err on the side of caution when peroxide is involved.

From a detailed thread on this issue:

Quote

I asked YHM this question awhile back, they said
The best way to clean any of our sound suppressors is to soak the
entire suppressor in mineral spirits overnight and then remove the next morning and
any accumulated lead should have come off. If there is any left it will wipe off with a brush or rag.

Unquote

[amafrank]

My statement concerning lead based bullets was referring to the exposed lead base on jacketed bullets. I don't shoot cast lead through any cans as the friction of going down the bore will create more heat and thus lead vapor. Jacketed bullets don't really have that problem since the lead is contained. There is some vaporization of the lead at the exposed base but not enough to create any real problems. Low velocity helps keep the fouling and heat down so subsonic loads with cast lead may or may not be a problem in reality. I don't do any casting and have little interest in spending the time and money to do the research though so I'm sticking with jacketed bullets for the rifles.

Test results on the vinegar/peroxide solution have shown that lead and aluminum dissolve fairly rapidly. Mild steel will pit quite badly if left for a day or two, stainless will frost if left for a few days. The solution does remove the lead and results in lead acetate solution which is very toxic. Pure lead isn't too good for the human body and accumulates over time. Lead acetate is really really bad for humans and usually kills before it has time to accumulate. Don't get the stuff on you or dispose of it in a place that will come back and haunt you.

Frank

[Alleycat]

You could go this route
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-2-LITER-1-2-GAL-HEATED-DIGITAL-ULTRASONIC-CLEANER_W0QQitemZ110433513967QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH _DefaultDomain_0?hash=item19b659b1ef
Ultrasonic baby. Some of the available solutions are bad for aluminium, but every thing else is ok.

[este]

I don't know anyone that has ultrasonic cleaned a suppressor, lots of people that talk about it, but never anything first hand.

I suspect it doesn't do much for baked on lead... unless those heaters get it to 500-600º or so :)

So you would still need a solvent. I wonder how the 50/50 mix works when combined with an ultrasonic...

[Rikky Lee]

I know people who have used an ultrasonic cleaner. It does work and you don't require dangerous peroxide solutions.

But talking about a Whisper, I would support amafrank's comments, a lot of shooting required before serious cleaning is needed.

[320pf]

We use ultrasonic cleaners at work to clean fused silica residuals off of stainless steel ultra-high vacuum parts. They work great! We put the part in distilled water and let it work for 45-60 mins. Done!

320pf